There is Hope
by BacktraF
Summary: The Chief has been stuck in space for nearly two and a half years until he was rescued. And he was rescued by the most unlikely person. Now they are in a fight to save humanity again, but this time, it isn't the Covenant.
1. Cortana

Cortana's Charity

The Master Chief jumped from the falling wreckage of the Covenant ship High Charity. The armor clad hulk closed his eyes and thought about what Cortana had said to him.

_They let me pick, did I ever tell you that? Chose which ever Spartan I wanted… You know me. I did my research, watched as you became the soldier we needed you to be. Like the others you were strong and swift and brave. A natural leader, but you had something they didn't. Something no one saw but me. Can you guess? Luck._

The Chief opened his eyes again and saw the ground hurtling towards him, or rather, him hurtling towards the ground. Looking back up at the burning ship, he wished that Cortana was there to calculate the odds of him surviving the fall in one piece. The reason for this was not because he was afraid of dying or losing and arm, but because he wanted to hear that voice again before he met his demise. The AI… no… _his_ AI.

He stole one more glance of ground before he closed his eyes again. He hit the ground with such force, that he did not feel the impact before he fell unconscious.

_Was I wrong?_

"Stay sharp," Sergeant Major Avery Johnson told his team of marines. Like they needed to be told. They had to do that 24/7 now that the Covenant had found Earth.

"The signal's getting stronger, sir. We must be close to where he hit," one of the marines said. It wasn't long before they found the green armor in a two meter deep, ten meter wide crater.

Avery and one of the techs ran to the massive Spartan and started scanning the suit.

"This ain't good," one of the marines stated.

"Damn," another answered. "How far'd he fall?"

"Two kilometers, easy," answered the tech next to Avery.

"Stay sharp," Johnson reminded his team. At hearing that command all of the marines gathered around the Spartan and kept watch. "Foreman?"

"His armor's locked up. Gel layer could have taken most of the impact," tech replied as he unlocked the Master Chief's armor. "I don't know Sergeant Major."

Avery knelt down next to the giant, armored man and thought about what to do. He sighed and removed the containment unit that had held Cortana from the Chief's Helmet. "Radio for pick up, heavy lift gear. We're not leaving him here."

"Yeah, you're not," the Master Chief agreed as he grabbed Johnson's and pulled himself up.

Avery felt relief flood through him as he saw him stand. "Crazy fool. Why do you always jump? One of these days you're gonna land on something as stubborn as you are, and I don't do bits and pieces."

The Chief looked down at Cortana's containment unit that the Major still held in his hand and took it from him.

"Where is she, Chief? Where's Cortana?"

_Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it. _The words rang through his head as he recalled what she had said. "She stayed behind."

Avery almost regretted asking that question, but he pressed on, "Corporal, make it quick."

"Sorry sir," The man replied as he stepped in front of the Chief. "Your armor's still in partial lock down." The tech punched a few buttons on his data pad then held it up high. "Look up here, sir."

The Chief struggled with his armor for a few micro-seconds, but his suit gave way and he looked up.

"Ok," The tech punched a few more buttons, "Now down here." John followed the small screen down. "Good. Everything checks out Sergeant Major."

"Kick off the training wheels Corporal. He's good to go."

When they were done talking the Chief looked up and saw a ripple in the air behind the farthest marine. The kind of distortion you see when heat radiates off of a hot surface. The Chief had only a moment to act. He pushed aside the Major and ran at the cloaked elite. With his pistol held below the beast's four part mouth, Johnson stopped him, "Chief wait! The Arbiter's with us!"

The Chief didn't remove his gun, but he didn't shoot either. He kept starring at him, wondering if he should release him or not.

"Come on now. We have enough to worry about without you two trying to kill each other," The Major continued.

John released his grip on the elite, but he still did not trust him, then the Arbiter spoke, "Were it so easy. We must go. The brutes have our scent."

"Then they must love the smell of green," Avery said handing the Chief a better gun.

The Spartan took it and decided he would keep the elite in line with it.

The Major turned around and began giving orders, "First squad, you're my scouts. Now move out as quiet as you can."

The Master Chief started running ahead of all the marines, but he slowed so he could keep the Arbiter with in his sights. The jungle was very thick despite the fact that they had a narrow path because of a cliff, and they had to stop every now and then in order for the marines to catch up. Soon they came up to a small stream where they heard a howl that only a brute could make.

"That sounded close," one of the marines said with the obvious hint of fear.

"_Johnson, you be advised. You've got hostiles en route."_ Then there was static.

"Say again gunny. You're breaking up," The Sergeant said.

The Chief looked up and saw a Phantom fly over head.

"Sergeant Major, Phantom inbound," one of the marines said.

The Chief came to a clearing that split in two directions. One path kept going forward and the other arced back around the cliff they were walking next to. He looked around the corner of the cliff and saw a single brute keeping watch on a large rock approximately 15 meters from where he stood. The Spartan leveled his BR55 battle rifle with the ugly bastard's head and began to shoot. It took 5 rounds to finally take off its helmet and kill it, good thing too. The brute had already begun to level his own gun, what the ONI named the brute shot, or BS for short. The marines had a fun time with its name though, and that always kept their spirits up.

After the brute was down the Chief darted ahead. A Phantom came down to drop more support and John stepped behind a rock. He looked to see what kind of threat he was dealing with and saw that they were just grunts. Just grunts were ok, but when they came in hundreds, they were deadly little bastards. Right now though, there were only about thirty in all, ten here and a little more than twenty farther on. When the Phantom had left, the Master Chief jumped from his hiding place and punched the nearest grunt, making its head cave in on impact. He pulled out his pistol and shot the next two in the head. By now, the rest of the grunts realized what was going on and had all pulled out their plasma pistols and began to charge them.

Two marines jumped in the fight and started spaying the grunts with fire from there MA5C assault rifles. One of the grunts that were hit by the incoming fire released its stubby finger off of the trigger and fell to the ground dead. The stray plasma charge hit the Chief and completely drained his shields. He had to dodge a few more and find cover so his shields could recharge.

"Ahhh that was my best friend!" One of the grunts screamed.

"Then join him on the 'great journey'!" The Chief heard the Arbiter say sarcastically.

When his shields were charged up again, the Maser Chief came out into the open with his pistol at the ready. He found that all of the grunts had been dispatched. He counted the bodies of the grunts and only found nine though. Leveling his BR55 he looked for the last remaining grunt who had escaped notice. There was a shadow that was leveling its weapon with one of the marines. That weapon began to glow green. His eyes widened as he ran towards the shadow with speed that could rival most of the other Spartans... The dead Spartans… Everything went in slow motion. He could see the plasma discharge from the gun and head straight for the unknowing soldier. The Chief jumped and tackled the marine to the ground, careful not to break or crush anything.

"Hey!" The man was confused until he saw the green plasma race over the Spartan's head and on to a rock. The Chief jumped back up and smashed the last grunt's head in and it fell to the ground, lifeless. The marine just sat there on the ground with his eyes wide open, completely in shock of what had just happened.

"Marine! Get your ass off the ground and fight! We're in a war son! We don't sit around and wait for it to be over!" The Sergeant Major came running over. "Good work Chief, but there's still that group over there."

The Master Chief looked up and saw that there were still twenty or so grunts, but he saw something that he had missed. Two massive brutes. He nodded his head ready for the real fight to begin. Again he ran ahead of all the marines a dispatched the first three grunts. Their reaction time was always the same. But brutes were the ones you had to watch out for. Their reaction time was only a tad faster, but they were also deadlier, _and_ there were two of them. He didn't have the element of surprise with him this time.

The closest brute started shooting its brute shot. The Master Chief's shielding went from full to half with one shot. He ducked in cover and let his shields recharge. He stood and peppered the smaller aliens with bullets from his BR. The brute began to shoot him again, but this time the elite stepped in and started shooting his Covenant Carbine or CC. The brute turned to his current attacker while the Chief snuck around to flank him. When the beast's back was aimed his way he jumped onto it and sunk his serrated knife into its chest. It let out a howl of pain as it grabbed for the armored man on his back.

The Chief jumped off and shot two rounds into the base of its neck. The large beast fell to the ground, dead. Just then, the Spartan was tackled by the other brute. How could he have forgotten about the other one?

It began to smash its fists against his helmet. His shield was dropping fast. The Arbiter pushed the brute off of the Chief and fired its CC into its mouth.

"Our leader is dead!" One of the nine remaining grunts squealed.

"The Demon and the Arbiter!" Another cried.

The Chief and the elite surrounded the remaining nine and showered them with bullets, plasma and metal alike. When the last one fell, the marines moved up. Johnson was the last man to catch up.

"You guys really know how to through a party. You two move so fast that we marines can't pull off a single shot."

"Were it so easy."

The Master Chief looked at the elite. That was the second time he had said that. But its meaning held true.

"Chief, I'm going to try and locate bravo," The Major said as a Pelican came into view. Johnson step on to it and saluted as it took off.

The Chief turned to look at the small natural tunnel that lay before them. It was time to move, they shouldn't stay in one place to long. He took the lead through the tunnel. He would still keep an eye on the elite, but not as much of one. He was almost sorry to say it, but he had begun to trust him. When they emerged on the other side the Chief saw movement out of the corner of his eye and ducked for cover.

"Sleepers. Take 'em out, nice and quiet." The marine who had said that almost sounded anxious.

The Chief jumped from his position and land silently, despite his one ton armor, next to the sleeping grunt. His fist impacted with the grunt head, crushing it. He dispatched five other grunts in the same fashion. When he got to the last one, it woke up.

"AHHH! The Demon!" It screamed to the rest of the Covenant in that area. Approximately three brutes, ten grunts and four jackals.

The Chief shot the grunt in the head and it stopped yelling. Three plasma bolts came zooming at him and he swiftly dodged to the side. He raised his BR55 and shot four grunts successively then leveled the scope with the nearest brute. As he began to shoot CC fire began to hit him. His first instinct was to turn on the elite and kill him for the betrayal, but then he realized that the fire was coming from the four jackals up on a cliff's ledge.

"Ahhhh," The elite yelled as he aimed at the jackals and took them down quickly with precision.

When John's shields had fully recharged again, he turned towards the brute again and began shooting it. The brute growled and charged him. The Chief side stepped and punched it in the spine, fracturing it and most likely, severing the spinal cord. The brute fell unmoving. The Arbiter dispatched one of the two remaining brutes and the rest of the grunts. One enemy was left. The marines had been firing the whole time, but unsuccessfully hitting anything. One of the soldiers, however, had just now attracted the attention of the last brute. The beast roared at its attacker and shot its T-25 Carbine (nick named the spiker by the marines because of its spike like projectiles) at him. The marine fell to the ground dead with five spikes sticking out from his head.

The Chief felt adrenaline kick in and he charged at the brute. He began shooting his BR at it when he was only five meters away. Then when he was right next to it, he shoved the butt of the rifle against its head, knocking it to the ground. The brute got up howling with the new found pain in the back of his skull. The Master Chief spun on his heel, put the muzzle of the rifle against the base of the brutes neck and fire twice. The beast fell, dead, with the look of pain and horror. The marines looked at their fallen comrade and all took their moment of silence. They couldn't carry him. It would slow them down and possibly cause more of them to die.

They all stood and left the spot where their friend had died and continued on. The Chief, as usual, pulled ahead of all the others. Another cliff took rise next to them and when they came to a corner they all had to stop when they heard voices. John looked around the corner and saw a brute standing on a natural bridge, holding a human prisoner by his neck.

"Tell me its location," The brute demanded.

"Kiss. My. Ass." The marine replied slowly and defiantly.

The Master Chief leveled his rifle with the creature's head and shot. The rounds caught it by surprise and released the man so it could protect itself. The soldier fell to the ground and rolled out of the way of the incoming fire.

When the brute finally hit the ground the marine turned towards the Chief. "The Brute Chieftain. They ambushed us. Killed my men."

John looked at the soldier and wished he could've been there to save them. Every man counted in this war for humanity. War had its casualties though, and people learned to live with it.

All of the soldiers pressed on across the bridge and found six grunts, two jackals and another brute. _They just don't stop coming, do they?_ The Chief thought to himself. He pulled the pin from one of his grenades and counted. 1… 2… 3… 4… Now! The Chief threw the grenade hard and fast. "5," The Chief whispered, and the grenade exploded killing all of the grunts and one of the jackals. He jumped from his hiding spot and surprised the other jackal. Three bullets pierced the alien's vulture like skull, killing it instantly. The brute was also caught off guard, but was too late to ready its gun as the rest of the marines and the Arbiter showered it with gun fire. The beast fell and all the marines were happy.

"Hoorah!"

"Yeah, take that, you Jackass!"

The Chief ignored their celebration and continued through another natural tunnel. This unlike the other one, however, made a drop and caught the Spartan by surprise. He berated himself for not paying attention. Just then Cortana's voice came in to his mind as he recalled something that really caught him by surprise. _Could you sacrifice me to complete the mission? Could you watch me die? _He shook his head in shock of this memory.

"Chief, are you ok?" One of the marines asked.

Over the radio, Admiral Stanforth's voice said "Your vitals just pinged KIA!"

"I'm ok, sir," The Chief responded.

He was almost concerned for himself, but he immediately dismissed his self concern and continued on the mission. The mission always came first, concern for other things came later. Soon came a wide open area that held a few bunkers and landing pads. In this area were about five grunts and a brute. That's just what he could see though. Farther on there were more bunkers and most likely more enemies. He decided t o take the brute down first this time. He told the rest of the squad to shoot at the grunts.

The Arbiter followed the Chief to the brute, who currently had is attention on a Pelican trying to escape. John punched the beast as hard as he could while the elite started shooting the back of its head with his CC. The brute fell to one knee. It turned around fast and caught the Master Chief in the stomach with its fist. He went flying ten feet before he landed and slid another five. He jumped back up and noted that his shields were almost depleted. He ignored the shield status bar and saw the elite engaged in hand to hand combat with the large alien. The final blow came from the elite when he crushed the brute's ribs with a hard kick to its chest. The Chief could hear each individual crack of all the bones breaking. The brute coughed up its own blood as it fell to the ground choking on the purple liquid that poured from its mouth.

The Master Chief turned around and realized that all the grunts had been dispatched by the marines. His inspection was cut short, however, when the radio came on and the people in the pelican began to panic. "I've got something on the radar… Banshees! Fast and low!"

"Break off now!"

"I'm hit. No!"

"Get a hold of her!" The Major's voice broke through the radio.

"Negative, we're going down," The pilot replied.

Just as she finished her sentence, two plasma bolts streaked towards the Pelican hitting it. The drop ship exploded on impact. The Chief watch the burning pieces fall into the water below. He looked away not wanting to be reminded of the losses. The small clearing in the jungle curved around a large boulder and presented more bunkers… and more enemies. The number of grunts didn't get any higher, but there were now four brutes. The Chief wasn't sure how well this was going to play through. Again he took a grenade and counted to four, throwing it in at the last second. When the Chief stood he noted that all of the grunts were lying on the ground in pools of their blue blood. He also noticed that two of the brutes had caught multiple pieces of shrapnel, one in the leg and the other in the neck who was slowing bleeding out. _Good._ The Chief thought. He wouldn't have to worry about that one as much.

The Master Chief, the Arbiter, and the marines all jumped out and began shooting to confuse the brutes even more. The brute caught in the neck by the shrapnel had already died. The rest were just now beginning to realized what was going on, but, in rapid succession, they were picked off by a sniper. The man was still hiding back behind the crates, waiting for the right moment. When the brutes had all fallen with a centimeter long hole in their heads, the soldier jumped out, proud of what he had done.

Just then a blue streak of plasma, going so fast that only the Master Chief, with his enhanced vision and speed, could see, came flying through the air and right into the forehead of the sniper. The shot came off so fast that the marine didn't have time to register what was going to happen. He died with a smug grin on his face, a sign of victory. The Chief turned around and located the jackal sniper that had pulled off that shot and gave his BR three tight squeezes. The jackal fell to the ground. It was no longer a threat.

The men looked at the happy marine, and yet again grieved the loss of yet another friend.

"He was the best sniper in the squad," one of the marines said.

The Chief walked over to the dead man and closed his unblinking eyes.

"Chief, I can't raise Bravo. I'm gonna try and find them on foot," the major informed over the radio.

"The banshees will be back, lets head back into the jungle," one of the marines stated.

The Chief agreed and started for the jungle. He took one step in it and saw another blue flash. He barely side stepped in time for in to hit the ground. He raised his BR and aimed at the jackal's head and pulled the trigger. Three bullets ripped through its small, narrow head as it fell off of the tree it was perched on. Scanning the immediate area, he saw no more snipers, but he was still going to be on the guard for more.

He went about twenty meters when the Major's voice broke through the radio. "Chief, can you hear me? My bird's down. About half a click down from you position."

The Master Chief acknowledged this report and quickened his pace. The land dropped down about twenty feet and he jumped down. When he landed, he saw that there were almost thirty grunts, all of them spread out over a small area. Along with them were two brutes. All of them were going after the same thing… Sergeant Major and his team.

The Chief had picked up a few plasma grenades from dead grunts earlier. He threw two of them into the mix of grunts. They all panicked, but instead of running away from the dangerous items, they either ran in circles or, not knowing where the bombs only knowing that there was danger, diving in the direction of the grenades. Fifteen in all went down in the confusion. The rest were still panicking and that's when the Chief took his chance.

He jumped in to the middle of the confusion and began picking them off one by one with his pistol. The gun fire only disoriented them more. He took eight more down when the marines had finally decided to jump into the action. The Arbiter was already engaged with one of the brutes. When the marines finished killing off the grunts, they moved to help the Arbiter. The Chief, however, looked for the other brute which was no where to be found. He turned back to the struggling elite and came in to help.

The Chief took it out with a few quick shots to its chests and it fell with out another sound. There was yet another natural tunnel (evidently Africa was full of them) and they went through to try and find Johnson and his team. They emerged on the other side and followed a short and narrow path to the edge of a cliff. The Chief looked down and saw a small dam and a few power stations that controlled the water's flow. Across the river he saw Sergeant Major trying to fight one of the brutes. It laughed and kicked him to the ground.

"See how they bait their trap?" The Arbiter asked as he walked up behind the Chief. "I will help you spring it."

The Master Chief looked at the elite and nodded, letting the alien know that the Spartan had just given him his full trust. The Chief looked straight down and saw a small group of grunts, easily dispatched, but the brutes on the other side would try and find out what was going on. He pulled a grenade from his belt and yanked the pin from it. He let it drop and the fist sized piece of metal hit the ground about two seconds later. The grunts all gathered around the curious object and tried to touch it, but they never got to. It exploded sending all of the grunts in different directions and leaving no survivors. The two jackals that were near by fell over, partially from the shock wave and partially in shock. When they had collected themselves they walked over the center of the recently made graveyard.

John jumped down on top of one and completely crushed the smaller creature. The other turned in surprise and barely got a shot off before the Chief pulled the trigger of his own gun and killed the creature.

"What are you useless pieces of garbage doing?" Yell one of the brutes as he came stomping over. When he spotted the Chief and gave a surprised growl. "The Demon has come!"

Some grunts that had followed the alien gave a yelp and dispersed in terror. The Master Chief aimed his BR at the brutes and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He looked at the round count and found that it was zero. He was out of magazines too. The brute laughed at this small handicap and lunged toward its opponent.

The Chief jumped to the side and the beast slammed into the wall of rock that he had been standing in front of. It howled in anger as it came around for another charge, but the Chief had already found a new weapon. He had killed a grunt and relieved it of its needler.

The Shards of pink needles pierced the brute's skin and exploded seconds later, leaving a disemboweled alien body in its place. The Chief turned around and found himself face to face with the biggest brute there. Its armor was thick and near impenetrable. The beast also had what the marines nicknamed the grav hammer, for its odd lightness, but extremely effective blows. The hammer was swinging towards him, but he didn't move in enough time. It impacted with his midsection and sent him flying into the cliff side. He tasted the distinct metallic flavor in his mouth and got back up. A few marines stayed in the back round shooting the beast while the Chief and the Arbiter engaged it head on.

The elite grasped its helmet and pulled it off, giving the Chief a clear shot to the head. He leveled the needler and pressed the trigger. The monstrosity's head exploded in a shower of its blood. The brutes, being all killed, left a few grunts running and screaming for there lives. The soldiers took care of them as the Chief ran to where they had put the Major.

"Chief, 'bout time you got here, now cut the power," Avery said when he saw John. The Spartan did as he was told and pressed a few buttons on the shield's power source. The cage turned off and the Sergeant Major was free, but he wasn't in time for the rest of his team. "Good," Johnson continued. "Now we're even, as long as we're only countin' today."

The Major then turned on his radio and spoke, "Kilo-two-three, what's your ETA?"

"Imminent, Sergeant. Find some cover. We'll clear your path," came the reply.

"Roger that, Hocus." The Major cut the transmission and turned to the marines. "Friendly gun ships, comin' in hot!" They ran to the bridge for their pick up.

"Phantom in bound!" One of the marines yelled.

The Phantom hovered right over the bridge and everyone ran off as it dropped grunts, jackals, and brutes alike. A Pelicans engines could be heard over the sounds of there enemies, however. Missiles streaked towards the bridge full of their foes and the Phantom. They both erupted in a shower of smoke and fire as the explosion engulfed both targets. When the danger had passed, the Pelican came to the bridge, ready to pick up the men.

"Good to see you, Hocus." The Sergeant Major said.

"Good to see you too, sir."

Yes, it was good to see them. The Chief was ready to get back to the base and get some rest. He needed it too. He needed to have a clear mind so _he could find Cortana…_

The Chief woke from his dream and was staring at the glass of his cryo pod.

"Chief! It's me Cortana. Some one is answering the distress signal."

The cryo pod opened slowly letting out mist. The Chief got out slowly, he could barely move. How long was he in there? "Cortana, how long have I been in cryo sleep?"

"Two years, four months and sixteen days."

He looked around and found a small window. Floating to it he peered out into the vast emptiness and saw a lone ship making its way slowly towards them. He was finally getting rescued.


	2. Unexpected Rescuer

Unexpected Rescuer

"We're heading out, you ready?" Ask a man in the pilot's chair. He was much taller than any normal person by almost two and a half feet.

"Yes, Captain," answered a young woman sitting in the seat next to him.

"Page, how many times do I have to tell you? This isn't a military ship. Call me Sam."

"Sorry, _Sam."_ She replied sarcastically. They had always messed around with each other, that's just the way they showed their love. It wasn't a husband wife kind of love, but more of a sister brother love. They had known each other since he was fourteen and she was ten. Sam looked after her looked an older brother would.

"Now, sis, you behave yourself." Sam laughed inwardly as he detached the small cargo ship from the space dock and got ready to take off. The Ship gave a shudder as its engines roared to life and it shot forward into the interdimension space known to the humans as slip space. Once the ship got under way, Sam and Page both got up from there seats to check on the cargo. Every now and then, when their ship entered slip space, the stuff they were transporting got destroyed because of the pressure that entering the other dimension caused on the items. There ship's inertial dampeners didn't work as well as they used to. The cargo remained intact. That was good. These were prototypes to very important machines and he was getting paid a lot to take them to the recovering earth.

It had been a little over two years since the battle for humanity's existence had ended. The war was over, but recovery was far from it. His planet was lucky enough to pass by mostly unnoticed by the Covenant. A few attacks were attempted on the small world, but he had protected the planet as though it had far more precious things than a few corn farms and a transportation business. It was a planet hardly worth keeping. But he stood his ground wave after wave of enemies, it was his home.

They both made their way back to the bridge. Taking a look around, Sam decided that it was time for a new ship. The ship was too small and, because of the war, his shipping business was being used more. Besides that, the bridge was too small. It wasn't cramped, but it wasn't spacious either. Yes, he would definitely get a new ship using the money he made from this cargo.

Page looked at Sam and thought of how he had shown up. It was the strangest thing that ever happened. One day the ground started to tremble and everyone was scared that the planet was going to blow up. It wasn't an earthquake because Minister (that is the planet's name) doesn't have any fault lines. They were sure that the Covenant was attacking, but only a few miles away they found an abnormally large man in strange green armor backing away from a large crater. He was they same age as she was yet he looked at least twice that. He told her many great stories of adventures that he had. At times he would act as if he had lost someone, but he would never tell her what it was. Even now, close to twenty years later, he was still just as mysterious as then.

"Captain, I am receiving a distress signal." The ship's AI, Halcyon, spoke through the speakers. Even though the ship was too small to have an AI issued to it, Sam had found this AI's processing cube remarkably undamaged in a downed UNSC Carrier. A few adjustments and it worked perfectly. He had wiped its memory, Page was still trying to figure out how he did that, and installed it into the ship.

"A distress signal? How long would it take us to get there?" Sam asked.

"At current speed, approximately one hour." Replied Halcyon.

"Damn, just what I need." Sam leaned forward in his pilot's chair as if thinking. "Page, what do you think? Do we have time for a small detour?"

Page got up and looked out into space, pondering the idea. "What if it's Covenant?"

"I'll kill them all." Sam said with a triumphant smile on his face and flexing his muscles.

Page laughed at his eagerness and returned her look to the vast emptiness. "I guess a small detour wouldn't hurt," she finally said, returning to her chair.

"Alright, let's do this. Halcyon, take us to the location of the distress signal!"

"Aye, Captain," the AI confirmed his orders.

"Captain, we are now coming out of slip space," warned the AI.

"Copy that," Sam replied. "Be ready Page."

"Yes, sir," Page saluted and strapped herself in.

The ship gave a lurch and shuddered. All around them stars popped into view as well as half of a UNSC frigate and multiple pieces of debris everywhere.

"What happened here?" Sam asked no one in particular as he got out of his chair. He stared at the astonishing sight on the view screen. "Halcyon, is the distress signal coming from the wrecked frigate?"

"Yes," came the curt reply of the AI.

Sam stood there for a moment longer, then turned to Page and said, "Well I guess we have to search it." And with that he turned on his heel and headed for the cargo bay. He always kept one, two person ship in there for quick escape from pirates or other undesirables. "Halcyon, would you transfer a fragment of yourself to the pod?"

"Yes, sir."

Page just stood there looking at the screen, not even realizing that her "brother" had already left the bridge. "PAGE!" Sam yelled after her. She snapped out of her admiration of the sight before her and ran after him.

"Do you really think that it's a good idea to board that thing?" Page asked when she caught up to him.

"Why not? Besides, I'm here to protect you," Sam said jokingly. "Oh don't forget to grab a pressure suit. We don't know if there's any air where we're going."

Page nodded her head in agreement and grabbed one after Sam. They both donned the gear without the helmet and boarded the small space craft. "Halcyon, you in?"

"Affirmative," came the reply.

"Good, now let's go see who needs rescuing."

They were about half way to the destroyed ship when Halcyon reported. "Sir, the ship's AI is hailing us."

"Patch them through."

"State your purpose," the AI said.

"Hello, we received your distress signal and we just providing whatever help you need. How many are on board? Are any of them injured? My ship is small and it can't hold many."

"There is just one human and one AI on board. He isn't injured."

"That's good. I've never been good at treating wounds."

"Then I guess we're lucky," the AI said sarcastically.

"Sarcasm? Since when does the UNSC program their AIs to use sarcasm?" Sam asked.

"Since they didn't program me with it. I learned it."

"Oh, a smart AI, huh? Well then what's the name of this smart AI?"

"Cortana."

"Pretty nam…" Page elbowed Sam. "Ow. What was that for?"

"Quit flirting with AIs," Page answered.

"But I've never met a _smart_ AI before," Sam said almost laughing.

Page shook her head and turned back to the controls. They were almost there so Sam returned his attention to Cortana. "Hey sweet heart."

"Don't call me that."

"Hey just trying to be friendly. Anyway, is there oxygen on board?"

"No, it's all vented."

Then how was there anyone on board? He was about to voice his question when Page pointed to the opening that had split the ship in half. It looked worse than it had way back on his ship. All of the decks had been breached. The pod landed on one of the opened decks and Sam activated the magnets in the pod's landing gear.

"Okay, Page. Helmets on," Sam said and they both put their helmets on.

Page gave a thumbs up and they headed towards the main hatch. Sam pushed a button next to it and the door hissed opened. "Activate the magnetic boots," Sam said to Page. A moment later a humming sound came from both of their feet. They stepped onto the floor of the giant frigate and looked around. There was a mongoose floating in a far corner as well as a few metal crates, holding weapons, no doubt. "Enough sight seeing. We better get going." Sam turned on his hailing frequency and spoke. "Cortana, where is the man that needs rescuing."

"He's coming to you."

"He's coming to me? How is he able to move in zero gee?"

"He's got his own suit."

"Oh and I suppose that he's just going to walk right up to me." Page tapped on Sam's shoulder. "What?"

Page point behind them and Sam turned around. Before them stood another man almost equally as tall as Sam in a suit. Before them stood a Spartan.

Sorry this one is so short. I'll try and have a longer chapter next time.


	3. Face to Face

Face to Face

Master Chief's POV

The Chief starred out the small window. He was finally getting rescued. After two years in cryo-sleep, someone had received the distress signal. He observed a small pod coming towards the ship. Wait, what if they weren't friendly? Could they be pirates? These thoughts ran through his head and he thought about the situation. "Cortana, how much time until they reach us?"

"Approximately six minutes. Why?"

"How many are there?"

"I'm not sure, they just… hold on a minute Chief. They're hailing us."

"On speaker," the Chief said.

"Got it," Cortana opened the channel.

_"Hey sweet heart."_

"Don't call me that," Cortana replied curtly.

"_Hey just trying to be friendly. Anyway, is there oxygen on board?"_

"No it's all vented." Static followed.

The Chief listened for anything that he might accidentally miss, but nothing appeared. "Is that it?"

"Yes Chief. Their on board now."

"I need a weapon."

"Chief, I have every reason to believe that they are friendly."

"Well just in case..." John grabbed a gun container and punched with all his might. The metal split open and he reached in and pulled out a small caliber pistol. He then pushed himself from the container and floated towards the floor. When his boots hit the deck, the magnets activated and kept him from floating away. Walking to the console where Cortana was located, he waited until she had transferred herself to the chip then pulled it out and inserted it into his helmet. He then turn and walked through the halls of the abandoned spaceship until he came to a corner where he stopped.

He peeked around the edge and saw two people heading away from him down a different hall. He walked towards them at a normal pace (or at least as normal as you can get in space) and cautious, but never lifting his gun. One of them turned as his or her gaze watched an ammo case float in his direction. Then that person spotted him. His heart began to race, almost longing for there to be a fight, but knew there wasn't going to be one. He or she tapped on their partner's shoulder and he turned around.

"Cortana, these are my rescuers?" The Master Chief was confused.

"Actually they pilot a cargo ship. They happened to intercept our distress signal." Cortana replied. "They're asking to be patched through to you."

"Do it."

"Hi, umm… We're here to get you out." One of them said.

"What's your ID number?" The Chief asked. All cargo ships had one, and he made a point to know all of them incase there had been a mutiny or attack.

"My ID number?" One of them asked clearly confused.

"You're ship's ID number. What is it?"

"Oh, well that would be 59986342."

"Good."

A few moments of silence followed then Sam spoke up again, "Well we should get going."

John looked at him and nodded in agreement. Together the three of them walked towards the small shuttle. When they were on board the two rescuers took off there helmets and started up the engine. The Chief noted their appearance. He looked at the one who called himself Sam and couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen him somewhere before.

When they neared the ship, the man said, "Halcyon, I need you to pilot us into the bay."

"Aye, captain," came the AI's reply.

The Master Chief was confused. "Your ship has an AI?"

Sam was nervous because he knew he could get arrested for altering an AI, "It just came with the ship."

John didn't fell like pressing the matter so he left it alone.

"So anyway, what are you doing clear out here?"

John looked back down at his rescuers and answered, "I was fighting the Covenant."

Page looked at him confused. "The Covenant War has been over for nearly two years."

"Cortana had the courtesy to tell me that," the Chief said coolly.

Page seemed to shrink back at his comment, clearly intimidated by him. Whether it was the hulking suit or his voice, she couldn't decide. Just then the small shuttle gave a lurch indicating that they had landed in the bay.

Sam stood and walked towards the hatch and releasing it so everyone could step out. Page began to take off the rest of her pressure suit and Sam did the same. When he pulled down the neck of the outfit the Chief noticed a bar code on the back of his neck. A bar code that the he had only seen Spartans where.

The Chief grabbed the shoulder of the blond man and turned him around so that they were facing each other. "Sam?"


	4. Surprise

Surprise

"Sam?" The Chief said as he turned the blonde man around by his shoulder.

"Well that's my name. Now all I have to wonder is who's asking?" Sam replied.

The Chief took off his helmet to reveal his face and Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "John? How? I thought all of the Spartan IIs were dead!" Sam nearly tackled the slightly smaller man in a manly hug.

John peeled Sam off and gave him a surprised look, "Well even if I was dead, you'd still be alive."

At hearing this, Page intervened, "Wait a minute, Sam isn't a Spartan. I've heard of those so called super soldiers and my brother isn't one of them."

"Page, please go pilot the ship," Sam looked at the girl as he said this.

"You… you are a Spartan?" Page nearly fell backwards at this and Sam looked down to the floor with guilt. After she righted herself, she ran to the cockpit and started up the ship.

When she had gone, the Chief looked at Sam and asked, "How are you still alive, soldier, and why didn't you report that you were still alive?"

Sam sighed and answered, "Always straight to the point and still so uptight, well whatever. It all started back on the covenant frigate. I was staying behind because there was a big hole in my pressure suit, so I was going to hold off the aliens so you and Kelly could get out. While waiting near the bomb, no enemies appeared so I went poking around with the time I had left. I found an odd looking machine in the far corner of the room and I thought I'd push a few buttons. What's the worst that could happen? It didn't look like a transmitter and the ship was going to blow up soon anyway. I pushed a large green button and a bright flash enveloped me and I thought that the bomb had gone off, but the next thing I saw was a few farm animals and a corn field. I had teleported by, I'm guessing that weird looking machine, to the planet Minister."

"Okay, that explains how you're alive, but it doesn't explain why you didn't report. There was a military outpost on that planet. Why didn't you go to it?" John was almost sounding a little pissed and hurt.

"Because I decided that I wanted to see what a normal life was like. Besides, I protected that planet from devastation," Sam countered.

The chief clenched his teeth looking like he was about to tear something apart, but then Page intervened. "Don't you touch my brother!" She yelled as she ran into the room.

"Page! What are you doing? He's not going to hurt me."

In truth, the master chief didn't know what he'd have done if the civilian hadn't jumped in front of him. He could have attacked his friend, but then again he was a trained soldier and standing his ground is what he did best.

Page, still not convinced, walked out of the room to take the ship off of autopilot. A few seconds later the ship shuddered and took off into slip space.

The two Spartans stood there for some time in awkward silence, waiting for the other to begin talking. Then Sam broke the tension. "Well it's been awhile, and I'm kind of surprised that you're not dead. I heard that all of the Spartan IIs were dead."

"And where exactly did you hear that?" John asked a little curious.

"To tell you the truth… I hacked the UNSC data base," Sam answered quickly, expecting to be yelled at.

"Okay."

"Okay? I basically ran away from the military, hacked the UNSC files, and took a UNSC AI, reprogramming for this ship, and you say okay?"

You stole an AI?" The chief looked at his fellow Spartan, almost not believing his ears.

"Ahh, okay I didn't steal it. It was in a downed UNSC carrier and I thought it would be a waste of a good AI," Sam said nervously chuckling and backing up slowing.

_"Chief, you need to court martial this man," _Cortana's voice broke through the master chief's helmet, and since it was no longer on John's head, both he and Sam could hear the AI.

"Is that the beautiful voice I heard on my ship earlier, and strangely enough, I feel like I've heard your voice before today."

The Chief laughed inwardly as he told Sam, "It sounds familiar because it's based off of Dr. Halsey's mind."

Sam's eyes widened as he realized that he nearly fell in love with his mother figure. Then a thought came to him. "What ever happened to Dr. Halsey? Is she still alive?"

"I don't know. I have been stuck in space for two and a half years and out of contact with her for nearly three years," The chief answered.

Sam was being to see signs of fatigue on his old friend, true he had been in cryo sleep for over two years, but it's nothing like regular sleep. "When was the last time you actually slept?"

"Well, before I entered cryo sleep, I hadn't slept for maybe five days."

Sam looked at him and sighed. "I've got an extra pair of clothes in the other room. The first thing you're doing is taking of that suit and taking a shower. Only God knows how long you've been in that thing. Then you're going to get some rest."

The chief looked at the man who was giving him orders. No one gave him orders except his superiors, but in this case, he was sure that Sam was right. So with that he followed Sam to a small room that had a shower. Sam left John to do whatever and he joined Page up on the bridge. Page looked at her adopted brother and was, for the first time, scared of him. At times she found herself trying to scoot away from him.

John, with much difficulty, was finally able to get his suit off. He stepped under the water and found that it was cold, but he didn't mind. Soon after he was done, so he grabbed a towel, dried off and got dressed. He exited the small bathroom and made his way towards the bridge.

When he entered the bridge, the Chief was stopped by Sam. "I told you to get some rest."

"I'll sleep after I get home," John replied.

"Ok where's that?"

Actually John wasn't sure where home was. Reach was his only home, and after it was destroyed he never stayed on any planet long enough for it to be called home. He thought for a few more seconds and decided that Earth was probably the next closest thing. "Earth."

"Well good, that's where we're heading."

After they finished the conversation, John went straight for the AI console, ejected the reprogrammed AI and put Cortana in its place. The holographic image of the 'smart' AI popped up and said, "Well hello there Chief. I'm kind of surprise to see you out of the MJOLNIR Armor."

"Wow," Sam exclaimed as he examined the AI standing in the holo-projector. "She even looks like her too!"

"Hmm, so you're the Sam that supposedly died in the Covenant ship," Cortana said looking at him with interest. "You don't exactly look like a super soldier."

"Haha, I like this AI. She's mouthy and that's just how I like them."

Page, getting tired of being ignored decided to interrupt, "Hello, I'm still here and would like to be filled in on some details."

Sam looked past Cortana and to his sister who was sitting in her seat with a pale face. "Page, are you feeling alright?" He got up from his chair and made his way over to the younger girl. "Page, are you alright." Sam asked again when she didn't answer.

"Yeah I'm fine, just wondering why I wasn't told that you were in the army, let alone you being a Spartan!" Page was now crying in her brother's shoulder.

"Come on, I'm taking you to bed." Sam stepped past John while supporting Page and walked out of the room, leaving the Chief and Cortana in there alone.

"Well that was interesting," Cortana said. "Anyway, we're coming up on the planet Verent. We need to refuel. We'll be exiting slip space in 2 minutes."

The Chief nodded and left the room to go inform Sam of the plan. They came back almost two minutes later and Cortana was readying the ship. "Leaving slip space in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Exiting now."

The ship began to shake and they exited. John looked at Sam with a look that said fix this ship. Sam smiled and gave him a shrug. Cortana interrupted there little voiceless conversation and said, "Uh, Chief, you might want to look at this."

With that the Master Chief looked out of the shielded window and saw something he did not expect. Verent was before them, burning. He also noticed it had a kind of shiny appearance to it, like it had been glassed by the Covenant. He observed the seen before him with awe.

"Chief, we have trouble. Two Covenant Carriers and a Frigate are headed this way!" Cortana informed.

That was it. That confirmed his suspicions. The Covenant was back.


	5. Kidnapped

Kidnapped

The Chief and Sam almost couldn't believe there eyes. The Covenant had been dormant for almost three years and now they were back. Back to destroy the human race and piss off the Chief. Since the ship was too small for any sort of combat, they had to wait and see what happened. They couldn't jump back into slip space because they needed fuel and the ship's engines couldn't do two jumps at such close intervals. They were sitting ducks with no where to turn.

"Chief, they're hailing us!" Cortana said.

"Put them through," the Chief replied.

On screen an elite in gray armor, unlike what most of the elite aliens wear. The Chief immediately recognized the alien and spoke. "Arbiter!"

"Demon, I thought you were dead."

"Obviously not. Please tell me you're not responsible for this."

"No, we did not cause this destruction. We received a signal that informed us of our technology being used without out consent. We came as fast as we could, but when we arrived the planet was already gone. We did, however, manage to seize these two Carriers before they could escape. The species do not belong to the Covenant. Perhaps you would care to see them?"

"Yes, I would." The Chief was angry. Another species that wants to annihilate humans? He didn't think that mankind could stand another war so soon. Once the transmission ended he turned to Sam and said, "Ready the shuttle. I'm going to the Frigate."

Since Sam had never seen a 'friendly' elite before, he tried to stop the Chief. "How do you know that you can trust him?"

"He and his race helped us win the Human-Covenant War. After that he took control of the Covenant and stopped the bloodshed."

Sam still wasn't convinced. "I'm coming with you, then."

The Chief wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not, but he let him come anyway. "Fine, but don't get into trouble."

"I'm not three, John. I know how to behave myself."

The Master Chief wasn't so sure about how mature he was, but he let it go and made his way to the shuttle with Sam following close behind as if he was going to be left behind. Before they took off, Sam woke up Page and told her to take care of the ship while they left temporarily. He didn't go into details for fear that she would get scared. They took off a few minutes later and left for the Frigate.

They were greeted not with guns, much to Sam's surprise, but with bows from the commander of the ship. "It's been a long time, Demon," the Arbiter stated.

_Demon? Why did the elite keep calling him Demon?_ Sam wondered as he was led to the brigs.

The Chief nodded in reply to the Arbiter's statement. Silence ensued for the remainder of the walk down to the holding cells. Sam looked back and forth for any sign that the creature would turn against them. He almost wanted them to attack because he hadn't had a good fight in over two years.

They entered the large room meant for holding prisoners and made their way to a cell at the end of the left side. What the chief saw was not was he was expecting. The creatures within had long, slender bodies with long arms and snake like necks. They resembled humans in a grotesque way yet they didn't seem real. When they approached the cage, the strange beings recoiled into the dark where they were barely visible.

John studied them for almost five minutes when he finally said, "These are the creatures that stole a Covenant ship and destroyed this planet?" The Chief gazed out a small window and peered at the burning remains of Verent. He couldn't believe that another group of beings was now trying to erase the humans.

"Yes," replied the Arbiter. "They are the disgraceful life forms that seek what we sought all those years ago."

The Chief gave what sounded like a sigh through his helmet speakers and spoke. "Take me up to the bridge, if you would. I would like examine the recording of what happened."

"Of course. This way." The Arbiter led Sam and John to the bridge and showed them what exactly transpired only moments before they arrived.

On screen there was a strange distortion that the Chief recognized as a slip space jump. Almost immediately the distortion stopped and five Covenant ships with a burning planet in the background came into view. John almost shouted for the ships to be destroyed, but caught himself remembering that it was just a recording. Three of the enemy vessels successfully jumped away from the new threat and left two carriers to their doom. Carriers couldn't jump so they could do nothing but wait for them to be captured or destroyed. They approached the small ships and boarded them, taking full control of both.

The recording ended and the Arbiter turned to the Chief. "That's what happened, though a few of the creatures killed themselves. I'm not sure if they were cowards or if they felt it necessary." The Arbiter seemed truly upset that the humans were targeted again.

All of a sudden, an elite monitoring the sensors spoke. "Captain, they have returned with a larger army!"

Sure enough, two Destroyers and five Frigates appeared out of no where and slowly approached them. "PAGE!" Sam yelled as he ran the console. The small transport had not gone unnoticed. A Carrier flew out from one of the Frigates and headed towards the small craft. They boarded it and brought in to the larger ship. "NO! I have to get back to the ship!"

"It's too late!" The Chief stopped Sam from making a fool of himself. "If she is still alive, she'll need us to go back to earth and get reinforcements."

Sam stared at the screen and watched the ships make their first move. They began to fire upon the Arbiter's Frigate so the Arbiter ordered the immediate docking of the two Carriers he now had in his possession. As soon as they were in the Frigate, the Arbiter made a jump for Earth upon the Chief's request, but did so as the Cole Protocol would have allowed him.

Sam sat in a room to which the Arbiter assigned for him and sat there wondering if Page was alive and if he would ever see her again.

Sorry my chapters are all so short. I'll try update soon.


	6. Sleep

Sleep

Chief stared out the window into the vast space, watching as stars passed by. This was the first time he had enough time to think about what had happened since he was pulled from cryo. He still couldn't believe that Sam, who had been his friend since they were six and was thought to have been dead since he was fourteen, was still alive. Both of them were now in their early fifties, but the enhancements they have made them look like they were only in their early to mid thirties.

Not only was Sam alive, he also made a family. That was dangerous. Making connections could prove to be a bad thing. Especially if things got personal.

Shaking his head, John pulled his gaze from the stars and looked back to the bridge of the Covenant ship he was on. Elites were at their stations and the Arbiter was sitting in his captain's chair giving various orders.

Sighing, the Spartan turned to walk out of the room. He needed to have a talk with Sam.

Many would have found the ship confusing, but the Chief had spent years on Covenant and Human ships alike and figured out the basic layout of all of them.

When he arrived at Sam's room, he knocked three times. A few seconds later, the door was opened to reveal the tall man with a tear stained face. It was obvious that he had been crying for a while.

"What, do you want, John," Sam asked bitterly.

"What happened to you, Sam? What happened to make you change so much?"

Sam's eyes widened a bit then darted to the floor as if he was ashamed. "I met someone who cared for me, besides Dr. Halsey. I was able to have a family."

"Sam," the Chief didn't know how to continue. For the first time in his life, he felt usless and unable to say anything. Just then, a wave of dizziness went through him and he realized how tired his body actually was. He fell to the side and before he could figure out what was going on, darkness took him.

"John!" Sam yelled out and tried to catch his friend. He couldn't reach out his hands in enough time, though. The Spartan hit the floor with a loud thump and didn't move.

"No no no no no no!" The tall man tried shaking him awake, but to no avail. So instead he tried shouting for help. "Hey! Someone help me!"

The response was immediate as Elites ran to him from all directions. One of them began to shout orders while others lifted the limp body of his friend and headed off down one of the long corridors. Not wanting to let John, out of his sight, he followed closely.

They brought him to a room and layed him on the bed provided. They ran out as fast as they could and went to go get the Arbiter and their doctor. Even though the doctor didn't have much medical training for Humans, he could still give a basic diagnosis. Once they were gone, Sam pulled up a chair and sat next to him.

Reaching his hand over, he felt the slightly smaller man's forehead, but no excessive heat was found. This relieved him and concerned him. He was relieved that his friend wasn't sick, but was scared that it could be worse than that.

The ship's doctor ran in and went to work right away, trying to figure out what was wrong. The Arbiter followed a minute later.

"What happened to the Demon?" The Arbiter asked.

'Again with the Demon.' Sam thought then answered. "I don't know, he just collapsed."

After a few minutes of silence the doctor stepped away from his patient and spoke in an unknown language.

The Arbiter sighed in relief and told Sam, "It's okay, the Demon was only tired. He was working himself too hard. The doctor says that he is lucky that he didn't get sick."

Sam chuckled. "He's going to to work himself to death."

The Arbiter laughed with him, "You are probably right. Come, we will be arriving at Earth soon."

They both left for the bridge letting the Chief catch up on some much needed sleep.

111

Oh my Gosh! It's been forever since I've updated! I'm so sorry guys... the chapter would've been longer, but I'm so tired. It's 11:30 at night right now... I'll try and get back into the sing of things and update soon. 


	7. Arrival

Arrival

John woke up with a start. Looking around, he found that he was in one of the rooms in which he was assigned. The bed he was on was strangely comfortable and he wanted to sleep more. That, however, was not an option. He had to find Sam and finish his conversation. He didn't know for sure how he had ended up unconsious, but that didn't matter to him right now.

He got off the bed, walked out of the room, and headed to Sam's room. When he got there he knocked, but no answer was given. After Knocking again and recieving no answer, the Chief opened the door, but found no one inside. He turned around and decided to head to the bridge. Once there he saw Sam looking at the view screen with a sad expression. John looked too, but found nothing sad about the picture. In fact, he was elated by what he saw on the screen: Earth.

"Demon!" The Chief turned quickly to the call and saw the Arbiter walking toward him. "I am glad you are okay."

Sam looked away from the view screen and smiled when he saw his friend. "John, I was so worried when you collapsed."

'Collapsed?' The Chief pondered. He had never collapsed before. Perhaps he really was in need of that rest that Sam had told him to take.

"The doc says you'll be fine though," Sam continued. "You just needed some sleep."

The Chief made a face that said he didn't need anything.

Sam laughed and slapped him on the back. "Man I missed seeing you guys!"

John's heart clenched in his chest. You guys? He hadn't seen any other Spartan for a long time and he was sure that they were all dead. "Sam."

"Hmm?"

"I haven't seen or heard from Kelly or the others in a long time. They could be..." the Spartan paused and swallowed, almost unable to continue, but he forced the word to come out of his mouth. "Dead."

Sam looked to the floor. "Yeah, I figured they were. I thought all of you were dead until yesterday, when I found you."

The Chief looked back at the tall man and gave a pat to his shoulder. "Let's get going."

"Yeah," Sam smiled. "I'm sure there's a party waiting down there for us. Don't want to keep them too long."

John smiled at his friend and they both headed for the shuttle that would take them down. The Arbiter was coming with them to see if he could help with the new threat.

111

The head of the UNSC stood infront of the shuttle that had just landed. It was from the Arbiter's ship. The Elite had told him that he had very important news to speak with him about so he agreed to meet with him. The door hissed open and revealed the eight foot alien and two tall figure behind him. The man thought that they must be personal gaurds. Once they stepped out, however, two humans were revealed. One donned in green armor...

"Master Chief," breathed the man.

The Chief's eyes met with his. He then remembered that he had been missing for over two and a half years and was probably labelled as dead. He snapped a crisp salute. "Sir! Reporting for duty!"

The man stood there in disbelief, but quickly snapped out of and returned the salute. "I can't believe you're alive, Chief."

"I've been stuck in space, for the past two years, sir."

The man sighed, "It's good to see you alive and functioning. Now, who is this other man?"

The other man looked up and old habits got the better of him. He stood as straight as he could and brought his hand to his forehead in a salute. "Sir, Spartan 034, returning for duty."

'Crap!' Sam thought. 'Stupid instincts.'

"Spartan 034?" The man thought for a moment. He remembered reading that the 034 had died on a Covenant vessle. "I'm sorry, but that's impossible. 034 is dead."

"I can explain what happened."

"Very well, you and Chief follow me. McNally, please escort the Arbiter to the meeting room. We should be quick." Turning quickly, the man began to walk away with the two Spartans following. When they entered a secure room, the veteran faced the tall men. "Okay, now explain."

Sam took a deep breath and began the story of how he had stayed behind on the alien ship, but had found a strange machine. How he had been teleported to the distant planet of Minister and how a family took him in. He helped on the planet, but never once did he inform the UNSC that he alive and well. Instead he lived out his life with his new family, protecting the planet from harms way and defeating the Covenant more than once.

He story came to a close when he told him of how he and his sister saved the Chief, but his sister was kidnapped by this new alien race. "And here we are."

The man simply stared at Sam, choosing his next words carefully. "So, you deserted the UNSC."

Sam seemed taken aback from that comment and tried to defend himself. "I did not desert the UNSC! I helped to protect the planet minister!"

"Yes, but had you reported your whereabouts, you could have protected larger and more important planets."

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You can't go around labeling the importance of planets. Thats like saying that some people are more important than others just because of where they are living or by the amount of money in their pockets!"

The man let the Spartan ('no ex-Spartan' he told himself) yell it out. Once he was done he continued. "I don't go around labeling the importance of others. The only thing that I go around labeling is how much the planet provides the human race. Resources are the thing we need right now, and a small planet the barely provides us with anything except for a small percentage of corn is not our priority right now."

A look of digust shown in Sam's eyes. "It really surprises me how much can change in alittle over thirty years."

With that the taller Spartan turned and walked out of the room. He wasn't sure he wanted to be a Spartan anymore. 


End file.
